DURBAN - South Africa may have suffered a 62-46 defeat to the Australian Diamonds but they can hold their heads high for finishing their Netball Quad Series match with the smallest losing margin ever against the world champions in Durban.
The odds were always stacked against the South Africans following their previous 25-point drubbing at the hands of the Australian Diamonds.
But these Proteas women continue to close the gap on the world’s top-three netball nations and they gave the Australians a run for their money before losing by 16 points.
The home side went into the final quarter with a 15-point deficit which soon stretched to 20 points halfway through the quarter.
South Africa again left themselves a mountain to climb after the half-time break as they were chasing an 11-point deficit.
It was the exact goal difference as in Saturday’s match against England where they turned in a plucky second-half performance to come close to beating the Roses.
But the world champions fired an ominous opening salvo as they raced to a five-point lead four minutes into the match before the Proteas managed a response.
Making her return to from an almost four-year hiatus from the starting lineup, goal attack Vanes-Mari du Toit looked a bit rusty inside the circle as she missed a few easy shots.
She was replaced by Lindie Lombard in the second quarter, the South Africans hoping she will have the same impact as she did in the England match.
The Proteas managed to close the gap on the Aussies in the second quarter with the tourists scoring 14 goals to 11.
Buoyed by a better performance the hosts were looking to erase the 11-point lead but instead found themselves on the backfoot from the start of the second half.
Less than three minutes into the final half-hour of the match, the Proteas conceded three goals which they managed to pull back half-way through the quarter.
Playing with greater freedom and finding easy access into the circle, the Australians started to pull away. Imposing goal defence Karla Mostert was sent off for bleeding and sat out for almost two quarters before making her return to the court.
Australia scored 15 goals to the South Africans' 10 and went into the final quarter holding a 15-point lead before putting more daylight on the Proteas.
South Africa made a stunning turnaround in the final minutes as they finished only one goal adrift in the final quarter (17-16) for their best performance ever against Australia.
The Proteas will next face New Zealand in England on Sunday for their final match of the Quad Series.